Kansas Supreme Court

Kansas Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1861
Location: Topeka
Salary
Associates: $168,598
Judicial Selection
Method: Assisted appointment (Bar-controlled commission)
Term: 6 years
Active justices
Daniel Biles, Marla Luckert, Eric Rosen, Melissa Standridge, Caleb Stegall, Keynen Wall

Founded in 1861, the Kansas Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Marla Luckert.

As of December 2020, five judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and two judges were appointed by a Republican governor.

The Kansas Supreme Court meets in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, Kansas.

In Kansas, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a bar-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the state Bar Association. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

According to the Kansas Secretary of State's office:

“

The [Kansas Supreme Court] hears direct appeals from district courts in the most serious criminal cases and appeals in any case in which a statute has been held unconstitutional. It may review cases decided by the Kansas Court of Appeals or may transfer cases from that court to the supreme court. The supreme court also has original jurisdiction in several types of cases.

”

The supreme court may conduct hearings for cases and appeals involving capital punishment, hearings for appeals regarding class A felonies and similar criminal cases heard in district courts. The court has original jurisdiction in Quo warranto, Mandamus, and Habeas Corpus proceedings.

The supreme court also had general administrative authority over all lower courts in the state:

“	Its rules govern appellate practice in the supreme court and the court of appeals, and procedures in district courts. The supreme court rules also provide for examining and admitting attorneys, set forth code of professional responsibility that govern attorney conduct, and include the canons of judicial ethics that govern conduct of judges. Rules also provide for examining and certifying official court reporters. The supreme court also may discipline attorneys, judges and nonjudicial employees.	”
—Office of the Kansas Secretary of State

In 1973 Chief Justice Harold Fatzer established an advisory committee to study judicial conduct and revise related rules. The Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct was formed out of this work, and provided that the commission could admonish judges about their conduct, but all disciplinary actions are reserved for the supreme court.

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the Kansas Supreme Court, their political party, when they assumed office, and the appointing governor.

Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office	Appointed by
Kansas Supreme Court	Daniel Biles	Nonpartisan	January 7, 2009	Kathleen Sebelius (D)
Kansas Supreme Court	Marla Luckert	Nonpartisan	January 13, 2003	Bill Graves (R)
Kansas Supreme Court	Eric Rosen	Nonpartisan	2005	Kathleen Sebelius (D)
Kansas Supreme Court	Melissa Standridge	Nonpartisan	December 14, 2020	Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Supreme Court	Caleb Stegall	Nonpartisan	December 5, 2014	Sam Brownback (R)
Kansas Supreme Court	Keynen Wall	Nonpartisan	August 3, 2020	Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Supreme Court	Vacant

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Kansas

The seven justices on the Kansas Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission is responsible for providing the names of nominees to the governor, who must then select a justice from that list. The commission is made up of nine members, one lawyer and non-lawyer from each congressional district and one additional lawyer who serves as chairperson. The four non-lawyers are appointed by the governor. Four lawyers are elected by members of the Kansas State Bar in each congressional district. The fifth lawyer is elected by a statewide vote of members of the Kansas State Bar.

Newly appointed justices serve for at least one year, after which they must stand for retention in the next even-year general election. If retained, the justice serves a six-year term and must stand for retention every six years after that point to remain in office.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must:

• have at least 10 years of active and continuous law practice in the state;
• be at least 30 years old; and
• be no older than 75. If a sitting judge turns 75 while on the bench, he or she may serve out the term.

Chief justice

The court's chief justice is chosen by seniority. He or she is the longest-serving justice on the court and serves as chief indefinitely. Upon his or her retirement, the justice with the next-longest tenure on the court becomes chief justice.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

2022

See also: Kansas Supreme Court elections, 2022

Candidates and election results

Daniel Biles' seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Daniel Biles' seat

Daniel Biles was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 65.2% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	65.2	571,967
			No	34.8	305,828
			Total Votes		877,795

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It has been certified. Source

Marla Luckert's seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Marla Luckert's seat

Marla Luckert was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 65.8% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	65.8	577,028
			No	34.2	299,524
			Total Votes		876,552

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It has been certified. Source

Melissa Standridge's seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Melissa Standridge's seat

Melissa Standridge was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 66.8% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	66.8	592,572
			No	33.2	295,029
			Total Votes		887,601

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It has been certified. Source

Caleb Stegall's seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Caleb Stegall's seat

Caleb Stegall was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 72.9% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	72.9	639,624
			No	27.1	237,864
			Total Votes		877,488

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It has been certified. Source

Keynen Wall's seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Kenyen Wall's seat

Keynen Wall was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 64.7% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	64.7	567,079
			No	35.3	308,976
			Total Votes		876,055

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It has been certified. Source

Evelyn Wilson's seat

Kansas Supreme Court, Evelyn Z. Wilson's seat

Evelyn Z. Wilson was retained to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 65.7% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	65.7	574,938
			No	34.3	299,941
			Total Votes		874,879

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It has been certified. Source

2020

See also: Kansas Supreme Court elections, 2020

Candidates and results

Rosen's seat

General election candidates

• Eric Rosen  (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔

Justices who faced retention

■ Lawton Nuss
■ Marla Luckert
■ Carol Beier
■ Daniel Biles
■ Caleb Stegall

Election results

November 8 general election

Lawton Nuss was retained in the Kansas Supreme Court, Nuss' Seat election with 55.32% of the vote.

Kansas Supreme Court, Nuss' Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Lawton Nuss	55.32%
Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results

Marla Luckert was retained in the Kansas Supreme Court election with 56% of the vote.

Kansas Supreme Court, Luckert's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Marla Luckert	56.0%
Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results

Carol Beier was retained in the Kansas Supreme Court, Beier's Seat election with 56.24% of the vote.

Kansas Supreme Court, Beier's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Carol Beier	56.24%
Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results

Daniel Biles was retained in the Kansas Supreme Court election with 55.5% of the vote.

Kansas Supreme Court, Biles' Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Daniel Biles	55.59%
Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results

Caleb Stegall was retained in the Kansas Supreme Court, Stegall's Seat election with 70.82% of the vote.

Kansas Supreme Court, Stegall's Seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Caleb Stegall	70.82%
Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results

• Election history, 2008-2014 (click to expand)

  2014

  Retention

  Judge	Election Vote
  RosenEric Rosen	52.7% A
  JohnsonLee Johnson (Kansas judge)

  2012

  Judge	Incumbency	Division	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
  MoritzNancy Moritz   A	Yes		666,228	70.9%A

  2010

  See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

  Daniel Biles (62%), Marla Luckert (62.7%), Lawton Nuss (62.5%) and Carol Beier (63.2%) were retained in 2010.

  2008

  See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

  Two justices were retained to the Kansas Supreme Court: Eric Rosen with 69.9% of the vote and Lee A. Johnson with 70.2% of the vote.

Appointments

2025

See also: Kansas Supreme Court Justice vacancy (July 2025)

Governor Laura Kelly (D) appointed Larkin Walsh to the Kansas Supreme Court, replacing Justice Evelyn Z. Wilson, who retired on July 4, 2025. In her retirement announcement, Wilson cited her recent ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) diagnosis as her reason for stepping down. Walsh was appointed on August 7, 2025, and is Governor Kelly's fourth nominee to the seven-member supreme court. As of August 11, 2025, Walsh has not been sworn in.

In Kansas, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a bar-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the state Bar Association. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention.

2020

See also: Kansas Supreme Court justice vacancy (September 2020)

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) appointed Melissa Standridge to the Kansas Supreme Court on November 30, 2020. Standridge succeeded Justice Carol Beier, who retired on September 18, 2020. Standridge was Gov. Kelly's third nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

At the time of the appointment, the governor would select a supreme court justice from a list submitted by the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

2019

Justice Johnson vacancy

See also: Kansas Supreme Court justice vacancy (September 2019)

Kansas Supreme Court Justice Lee Johnson retired on September 8, 2019. Governor Laura Kelly (D) said of Johnson, "Justice Lee Johnson has been a dedicated and distinguished public servant, first in Sumner County and then for 18 years on the bench in Kansas."

On December 16, 2019, Gov. Kelly appointed Judge Evelyn Z. Wilson to succeed Johnson on the state supreme court. Wilson was Kelly's first nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

Under Kansas law, the governor selected a supreme court justice from a list submitted by the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The justice served for at least one year, after which he or she would run for retention in the next general election to stay on the bench.

Justice Nuss vacancy

See also: Kansas Supreme Court justice vacancy (December 2019)

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss retired on December 17, 2019. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said of Nuss, "As a Marine, a lawyer, a jurist and a Kansan, Chief Justice Nuss has taken challenges head on and never shied from struggle or duty. He’s been in the arena, doing difficult work on behalf of Kansans. And he has done it well."

Governor Laura Kelly (D) appointed Keynen Wall to succeed Nuss on March 11, 2020. Wall was Gov. Kelly's second nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Under Kansas law, the governor selected supreme court justices from a list submitted by the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year. The figures published by the state below include the Kansas Court of Appeals. As of September 2024, data more recent than 2019 was not available online.

Kansas Supreme Court caseload data
Year	Filings	Dispositions
2019	1,797	2,620
2018	1,691	2,941
2017	1,770	2,951
2016	2,045	3,244
2015	2,007	3,046
2014	1,930	3,169
2013	1,784	2,777
2012	1,934	2,815
2011	1,817	2,577
2010	1,854	2,784
2009	1,957	2,972
2008	1,862	2,693
2007	2,016	3,005

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

• We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
• We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
• We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
• We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

• Number of justices: 7
• Number of cases: 120
• Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 90.0% (108)
• Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Daniel Biles (20)
• Per curiam decisions: 17
• Concurring opinions: 16
• Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Caleb Stegall (5)
• Dissenting opinions: 13
• Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Daniel Biles (5)

For the study's full set of findings in Kansas, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

• Strong Democrat
• Mild Democrat
• Indeterminate
• Mild Republican
• Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.

Kansas had a Court Balance Score of -0.50, indicating Democrat control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Kansas was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Kansas received a score of 0.12. Based on the justices selected, Kansas was the 17th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.

Noteworthy cases

Kelly v. Legislative Coordinating Council (2020)

See also: Lawsuits about state actions and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

Kelly v. Legislative Coordinating Council: On April 9, 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) filed a lawsuit against the Legislative Coordinating Council, which is a seven-member group made up of the state's legislative leaders from both parties. On April 8, the council voted 5-2 along party lines to revoke Kelly's executive order limiting religious gatherings to 10 individuals. Senate President Susan Wagle (R), a member of the council, said that the order violated the principles of freedom of religion. Kelly said that the council violated the state constitution and that only the full legislature has the authority to revoke executive orders.

On April 10, the Kansas Supreme Court announced it would convene on April 11 through a video conference to hear arguments in the case. This was the first time in history the court convened on a Saturday. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kelly. The court said that the Legislative Coordinating Council did not have the power to overrule the governor.

Gannon v. State (2014)

On March 7, 2014, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the level at which Kansas had been funding public schools was unconstitutionally low. The court ordered legislators to remedy the difference of funds between school districts by July 1, 2014. The court then sent the case back to a lower court to specify exact amounts.

Ethics

The Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Kansas. It consists of four overarching canons:

“

Canon 1: A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. Canon 2: A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently. Canon 3: A judge shall conduct the judge's personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office. Canon 4: A judge or candidate for judicial office shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary.

”

The full text of the Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Kansas may be removed in one of two ways:

• The Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct hears allegations of misconduct, investigates, and may hold formal hearings on the allegations. The commission, if it finds that the judge committed the misconduct by clear and convincing evidence, may then admonish or issue a cease-and-desist order on the judge. The commission may also submit a recommendation to the Kansas Supreme Court that a judge be removed from the bench, publicly censured, compulsorily retired, or suspended.
• A judge may also be removed by impeachment and then conviction, pursuant to Article 2 of the Kansas State Constitution.

History of the court

The Kansas state capitol in Topeka, Kansas, which houses the Kansas Supreme Court

Kansas was a territory for seven years before it became a state in 1861. The Territory of Kansas had a judicial system with three supreme court justices, who also served as judges of the three district courts. Justices were appointed by the U.S. president for four-year terms. None of the appointees who served in that period were from Kansas. Kansas' territorial period included a pitched battle between pro- and anti-slavery forces, including the Bleeding Kansas period where Kansans engaged in violent guerrilla war between the two groups, and judges too engaged in activism. These events led to a high turnover of supreme court justices, with "nine or ten" being appointed in seven years.

At its inception, the Kansas Constitution provided that one chief justice and two associate justices would comprise the supreme court, and would be elected for six-year terms. In 1900, the court increased from three justices to seven. In 1956, Gov. Fred Hall (R) lost in the Republican primary to challenger Warren Shaw (R). Shaw advanced to the general election where he lost to George Docking (D). On Jan. 3, 1957, before the end of Hall's term, Chief Justice Bill Smith resigned from the bench. The same day, Hall resigned from the governorship. His successor, Lt. Gov. John McCuish (R), then appointed Hall to fill the interim vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court. Hall remained on the supreme court until resigning in 1958 to run for governor, which he lost.This series of events led to a constitutional amendment, approved in 1958, that changed the selection of supreme court justices from partisan election to assisted appointment. This amendment created the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

In 1972 Kansans voted for the Kansas Judicial Powers, Amendment 1 (1972) that unified judicial power in the state in one court system, including a supreme court, district courts, and other courts as provided by law. In 1977 a second court of appeals was created to reduce the number of backlogged cases.

Courts in Kansas

See also: Courts in Kansas

In Kansas, there is a single federal district court, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts
• Courts of limited jurisdiction

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Kansas' state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Kansas' state court system.

Party control of Kansas state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Kansas has a divided government where neither party holds a trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor, while the Republican Party controls both chambers of the state legislature.

External links

• Kansas Judicial Branch

Footnotes

Kansas courts

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Federal courts:

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Kansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Kansas

State courts:

Kansas Supreme Court • Kansas Court of Appeals • Kansas District Courts • Kansas Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Kansas • Kansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kansas